With 18 million people unemployed in the United States, the chance of finding a job has drawn thousands to the oil fields of North Dakota – a state that now produces more oil than several members of Opec. Many in the industry are predicting America will soon overtake Saudi Arabia and even Russia as the world's top oil producer as a result of the boom, which has seen a Gold Rush-style migration to the area

Monday 14 May 2012 10.50 EDT
First published on Monday 14 May 2012 10.50 EDT

An oil derrick outside Williston, North Dakota. With what many are calling the largest oil boom in recent North American history, temporary housing for the huge influx of workers, known as 'man camps', now dot the landscape

A crude oil transport truck rumbles down a dusty dirt road, past the old Harland Lutheran church near Watford City North Dakota. The Bakken oil boom has brought a tremendous number of semi trucks to the area, putting stress on western North Dakota roads

After sleeping in the Williston Walmart parking lot for two nights, Minnesota residents Tyson Masters, Robert Hed, and Daniel Anderson, 24, packed up the small fish house trailer they bought for $500 and headed to a nearby campground. The three were enticed to western North Dakota by plentiful jobs created by the oil boom

Minnesotan Chris Byrd, who works as a shop hand, connects a water line leading to his trailer after a sewage backup at a makeshift campground in the yard of a farmhouse outside Watford City, North Dakota

Barb Russell of Farmington, Minnesota, drives bus loads of oil workers around western North Dakota for Target Logistics. She stays at the man camp in Williston and works 12-hour shifts for 14 days straight, then gets a week off

Semi-trucks drive north on Highway 85 south of Williston. Touring bicyclists wanting to retrace the path of explorers Lewis and Clark or pedal through the northern tier of the US are being warned to steer clear of northwest North Dakota because of heavy oil traffic

A tree grows through a derelict vehicle near the old ghost town of Dore, North Dakota. The western North Dakota town has seen an economic and population turnaround with increased oil activity in the region